Atari 5200 Manuals

VIDEO GAME CARTRIDGE

FOR THE ATARI 5200 SUPERSYSTEM

ATARI!

THIS YEAR'S ARCADE HIT WITH REAL MOTION GRAPHICS

■POLE POSITION is engineered and designed by Namco Lid manufactured under license
by Atari. Inc Trademark and - Namco 1982

Insert your 5200™ game cartridge so the label faces you and reads
right-side-up. Be sure the cartridge is firmly seated in the center of the
console, but do not force it. Then press the POWER switch on See your
Owner's Manual for further details.

w

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Grand Prix Finish 1

2. Game Summary

2

3. Game Play

3

4. Options

5

5. Using the Controller

5

6. Trak-Ball™ Option

6

7. Scoring

7

8. Helpful Hints

8

1 . GRAND PRIX FINISH

You're on the final lap. Grand
Prix driver Nick Moneti is holding
first place like grim death but
you're determined to get him.
You slip in behind him and put
on the pressure, dodging right
and left, backing off. closing in
But try as you will, you can't get
by him Moneti stays fixed and
unshakeable. and time is run¬
ning out.

Coming up is the dangerous
right-hand curve before the
finishing straight, a chance to
pass if you're lucky and lunatic
enough. If only Moneti would
make a mistake, just one! Then
like the answer to a prayer, it
happens: Moneti brakes too
late going into the curve and

skids to the outside lane That's
it! You jam your foot to the floor
and go for an inside pass But
Moneti recovers in time, switch¬
es back to the inside, and
forces you onto the shoulder.
You're heading straight for a
road sign at 180 mph.

You miss the sign by a screech
and swerve bdck onto the track,
but the damage is done: Moneti
has a 1 -second lead going into
the final straight. Flat out at 195
mph, you pull up wheel-to-
wheel and fight down to the
finish line Then coaxing forth a
final burst of speed, you shoot
past and cross with the flag
victor by a hair!

, ^ PREPRRE TO QUALIFY <!

TASmi 1ASHE81

mm

2. GAME SUMMARY

The object of POLE POSITION
is to finish the big race in the
shortest possible time and score
maximum points. But before you
can enter the race, you have to
qualify for it by completing the
Qualifying Lap in 73 seconds or
less. If you qualify, you're as¬
signed one of eight positions in
the starting lineup and you earn
a Position Bonus. The faster your
lap time, the better your posi¬
tion, and the more bonus points
you score. Try for the number
one spot, the Pole Position.

If you don't qualify, you can
race until the Race Timer runs
out after 90 seconds. You score
50 points every 5 meters and
earn 50 bonus points every time
you poss a car When the timer
runs out, your possing bonus is
added to your score. Then
GAME OVER (plus the race and

lap options) appoars on your
screen Press the START button to
repoat the Qualifying Lap.

NOTE: POLE POSITION goes into
Auto-Play mode approximately
1 minute after GAME OVER ap¬
pears on your television screen

In the big race, you're racing
against time as well as other
cars. If you fail to beat the Race
Timer on any lap, you're
droppied out of the race. After
your passing bonus is added to
your score, the game ends.

Press START and qualify for the
next race.

If you complete the final lap
and cross the finish line, you're
a real winner! You score high on
distance covered, collect a
passing bonus, and earn 200
bonus paints for each second
left on the Race Timer.

{ PREPARE TO RACE 7

2

3. GAME PLAY m M i

QUALIFYING LAP. The Qualifying Lap is one complete circuit of
the race course:

Final Comer Hairpin Turn 0 1 Km Radius Turn First Corner

Your starting position and Posi¬
tion Bonus appear in the center
of the screen at the end of the
Qualifying Lap when you qualify
for the big race.

1 2 3 5 6 7 8

A lap time of 73 seconds (73"00)
qualifies you for eighth place in
the starting lineup and earns
you 200 bonus points. To win the

Pole Position and 4000 bonus
points, you must do the lap in
58Vi seconds (58"50) or less.

See Section 7, SCORING, for
other Position Bonuses.

THE RACE. Four starting lights
blink the countdown Shift into
low gear on the red lights and
move out fast on the green. Shift
into high gear when you're up
to speed See Section 5. USING
THE CONTROLLER, for car controls.

Complete the first lap in 75
seconds or less to earn Extended
Play time and go on racing.
Each time you beat the Race
Timer, you earn more racing
time until you're on the final lap
A race can have as many as
eight laps (see Section 4.
OPTIONS). The lap you're on

3

Starting Line Pole Position

and your lap time appear at
the top right of the screen.

PASSING BONUS. Your passing
bonus (50 points per car) ap¬
pears in the center of the screen
at the end of the race, or at the
end of the Qualifying Lap if you
fail to qualify for the race:

PASSING BONUS 50 X 28

THE FINISH. Victory is at hand
when crossed checkered flags
flash on your screen, but you're
not a winner until you cross the
finish line.

TIME BONUS. If seconds remain
on the Race Timer at the end of
the race, you earn a time bonus
of 200 points per second. The
time bonus appears in the
center of the screen and is
followed by your total lap time
for the race:

TIME BONUS 200 x 10

TOTAL TIME 112"45

4

SMASHUPS. If you smash into
another car or a road sign, your
car explodes. You live to con¬
tinue the race, but you lose a
lot of time. Lost time means lost
points.

DRIVING OFF THE TRACK.

You can drive onto the

red-and-white shoulder and

the grass but it slows you down.

4 . options mmmmm

RACES. In order of difficulty, the
races are:

■ PRACTICE RUN

■ MALIBU GRAND PRIX

■ NAMCO SPEEDWAY

■ ATARI GRAND PRIX

The level of difficulty depends
upon the number of cars on the
track. POLE POSITION is set for
the Malibu Grand Prix.

There are no other cars on the
track in the PRACTICE RUN

You're racing against the Race
Timer to improve your lap time
and driving skills. Total time for
the run appears on your screen
at the end of the final lap

LAPS. You can choose from one
to eight laps per race or prac¬
tice run. POLE POSITION is set for
four laps.

SELECTING OPTIONS. Press the ♦
key on the keypad to select
races or the practice run. Press
the # key to select the number
of laps in the race.

5. USING THE CONTROLLER

Plug a 5200 controller into jack
1 on the front of the console
unit.

GAME CONTROLS

START. Press START to begin the
Qualifying Lap. Press PAUSE

before START to interrupt the
race and return to the Quali¬
fying Lap.

PAUSE. Press PAUSE to stop the
race temporarily. Press it again
to continue.

5

RESET. Press RESET to display the
options Press PAUSE before
RESET to interrupt a race and
display the options.

CAR CONTROLS

TO START AND ACCELERATE: Press
and hold in one or both of the
bottom red buttons on your con¬
troller Always start in low gear

TO SHIFT GEARS: Move the
joystick up for low gear, down
for high gear Top speeds are
105 mph in low gear. 195 mph
in high gear.

TO STEER: Move the joystick right
or left.

TO BRAKE: Press one or both of
the top red controller buttons

TO SLOW DOWN: Shift into low
gear, take your finger off the
accelerator button, or press
the brake button

6 . TRAK-BALL™ OPTION

POLE POSITION can be played
with an ATARI TRAK-BALL control¬
ler, which may be purchased
separately Plug the TRAK-BALL
controller into jack 1 on the
front of the console.

Use the ball to steer your car.
Hold in one of the red fire but-

Race Options Brake

laps Accelerator

tons to start your car and keep
it moving. Press one of the red
auxiliary buttons to brake (see
diagram).

On the keypad (left or right
pad), press the 1 key to shift into
low gear, the 7 key to shift into
high gear, the * key to select

6

your race or practice run, and
the # key to select the number
of laps.

START, PAUSE, and RESET operate
as described in Section 5.

USING THE CONTROLLER.

7. SCORING

/

■ 50 points for every 5 meters
driven.

■ Passing Bonus: 50 points per
car.

■ Time Bonus: 200 bonus points
for each second left on the
Race Timer at the finish.

7

8 . HELPFUL HIWTS

MAKE A FAST START. In the Quali¬
fying Lap. be prepared to take
off as soon as your Formula I
racer appears on the screen
The start is everything when
you're qualifying for position

USE THE INSIDE TRACK. Stay in
the inside lane as much as
possible You can travel faster
and maneuver more easily
around other cars On curves,
it's easier to cross from the
inside to the outside than the
other way around.

GO FLAT OUT ON STRAIGHTS. This
is where you can make time.

AVOID SKIDS. Try to keep your
car as straight as possible on
the road to prevent skids. Skid¬
ding slows you down and gives
other cars a chance to out¬
distance you. Remember, you
earn 50 points for every car
you pass

PASS ON THE SHOULDER. Running
on the red-and-white shoulder
slows you down, but it can
sometimes be the fastest and
easiest way to overtake cars
Just be careful not to run into
any road signs

MniHnidcnviuc

Call ToflErw
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Atari welcomes your comments.
Please address all correspondence to

ATARI, INC
Customer Relations
1312 Crossman Avenue
Sunnyvale, California 94086

ATARI

ATARI. INC . Consume* Orvivon. 1312 Crossman Ave . PO 80* 6I6S7. Sunnyvale. CA 94086

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1983 ATARI. INC AU RIGHTS RESERVED